The Highest Percentage of Fat in the Milk of an Animal

While cow's milk is similar in fat to human milk, some other types of milk contain much more fat.

The composition of different types of animal milk varies based on the needs of the baby animal, with some types of milk containing more fat, protein or carbohydrate than others. Fat content in animal milks ranges from a low of 1.2 percent to a high of 53.2 percent.

Purpose of Fat in Milk

The fat in milk helps animals quickly put on more fat themselves, so animals that require a higher percent body fat, such as those that live in very cold areas of the world, tend to have higher amounts of fat in their milk. In contrast, higher protein amounts in milk help animals grow and build muscle faster, while milk with higher concentrations of carbohydrate helps with brain development, according to La Leche League International.

Highest Fat Milk Consumed By Humans

Out of all the types of milk sometimes consumed by people, reindeer milk has the most fat, with 22.5 percent fat. Philippines buffalo milk has 10.9 percent fat, yak milk can contain up to 9 percent fat, sheep milk has 5.3 percent fat, cow milk has between 4 and 5.5 percent fat, camel milk has 4.9 percent fat, goat milk has 3.5 percent fat and horse milk has 1.6 grams of fat.

Highest Fat Milks

The milks that are highest in fat overall include mainly types of milk not consumed by humans. These are gray seal milk, with 53.2 percent fat, whale milk, with 34.8 percent fat, and polar bear milk with 31 percent fat. Other high-fat animal milks include cat, rabbit, rat, deer, dolphin and elephant, all of which have between 10 and 20 percent fat.

Human Breast Milk Comparison

Since human babies don’t need to grow very quickly or have a high body fat percentage but do need to quickly develop their brains, human milk is relatively low in fat, with about 4.5 percent fat, and high in carbohydrates. However, the fat content varies, with more fat in the milk near the end of the feeding when the breasts are less full than at the beginning of the feeding.